Storage team makes integration a priority
Resellers key to success of NetApps/Veritas alliance
Resellers will be key to the success of the extended storage alliance revealed last week in CRN between vendors Network Appliance (NetApps) and Veritas.
NetApps, which will resell Veritas's Data Lifecycle Manager and NetBackup products as part of the deal, said the channel would have a central role to play in the roll-out of the companies' integrated regulatory compliance tools.
The pair will offer a range of data lifecycle management tools and will work with resellers to offer support to customers.
Integration of the NetApps SnapLock with Veritas's Data Lifecycle Manager will make information tamper-proof so that documents cannot be doctored, said Stuart Gilks, systems engineering director at NetApps.
Companies will be able to index the data, allowing IT managers and auditors to save time by quickly retrieving information using an enterprise search engine.
"[Integration] makes it easier for channel partners to take a more comprehensive offering to the market. The Veritas tools will also open up new opportunities for resellers," Gilks said.
Sue Clarke, senior research analyst at Butler Group, said: "Organisations are looking for end-to-end storage solutions and often don't want to speak to separate software and hardware vendors. This partnership enables providers to offer this."
Will Todd, storage business manager at reseller ISC Networks, added that resellers can educate clients on compliance issues.
"What's critically missing, and where resellers need to add value, is risk-analysis and procedural responses. If you don't have these in place then the technology is secondary," he said.
NetApps will also be extending its education and certification programmes to include reseller training for these products.
The Veritas Data Lifecycle Manager/NetApps SnapLock product will be available to resellers in the first quarter of 2004, and Veritas's NetBackup/NetApps SnapVault will be available in the second half of next year.